Tourism officials want 'The Bachelor' in Santa Fe

SANTA FE &GT;&GT; Tourism officials are looking for a green light from the City Council to try to get their hands on the "The Bachelor" and lure the TV show to do some filming in Santa Fe.

Councilors are expected to consider a request on Wednesday to spend as much as $100,000 from Tourism Santa Fe's reserve budget on activities involved in attracting the popular ABC dating show, the Albuquerque Journal reports (http://goo.gl/GRqNAi ) Tuesday.

Tourism officials want the show to film one of next season's episodes in Santa Fe and believe it would be a good boost for the city.

The New Mexico Department of Tourism has already agreed to draft a letter of intent to commit $50,000 to the effort.

Randy Randall, Tourism Santa Fe's executive director, said the show's producers approached Santa Fe two weeks ago about possible filming and he wanted to make sure everything was in place before producers make a decision.

"I need to get councilors to approve the funding just in case," he said.

Producers are expected to make a decision by the end of the week, Randall said.

"The Bachelor," which debuted in 2002, revolves around an eligible bachelor who goes on a series of dates to choose a potential bride from a pool of 25 women.

Randall said it costs producers around $500,000 to film an episode.

The presentation Randall will give the City Council includes testimonials from hotel and tourism officials from all over the world about the impact of hosting the show.

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"The effects are instantaneous with the airing of the show, but also have a dramatically long life span," Lee Banks, owner of Costa Rica's The Springs Resort in Spa, says in the materials.